The InterHigh Story

This is a study that InterHigh commissioned at the beginning of 2010. David Porteous, a freelance writer, studied InterHigh for a period of 9 months and wrote the attached conclusions in The InterHigh Story below. He also carried out in-depth interviews with parents, teachers and pupils as well as two independent organisations (one public and one private sector) which you can see as attached case studies. The commission served as an independent review and assessment of InterHigh developments so far. Since its completion InterHigh has developed further and the VISCED project hopes to track its development.

The InterHigh Story

InterHigh, the UK's first-ever online school, has delivered lessons over the internet on every school day since it was established in September 2005, providing a complete education to hundreds of children living in this country and around the world.

InterHigh's fresh and innovative approach to learning is the creation of its founders - husband-and-wife team Paul and Jacqui Daniell, principal and administrator respectively - who run the school from a converted cow shed in rural Wales.

This document, containing testimonies from pupils, parents and teachers, together with case studies, charts the history, achievements and future development of InterHigh.

Finding a better way of teaching

After graduating with a degree in engineering, Paul Daniell entered the automotive industry where he worked for leading car manufacturers such as Jaguar. An increasing lack of job satisfaction, however, prompted him to explore other career avenues. He began to offer home tuition in his spare time and found he really enjoyed teaching. Paul duly qualified as a teacher, gaining his Professional Graduate Certificate in Education through the Open University, and joined a comprehensive school in the Welsh valleys where he taught Physics and IT.

In the classroom, Paul experienced many of the frustrations commonly voiced by teachers, particularly those from secondary schools in the state sector. "So much time was wasted in school," he recalls. "The children would have to move around from class to class and the first 10 minutes of every lesson would be taken up with the children getting their books and pens out and settling down. You would spend more time maintaining discipline than you would actually teaching." Paul also remembers, all too vividly, how the needs of individual children often failed to be met by mainstream education.

"I saw kids all the time who were unhappy for various reasons," he adds. "Some simply can't cope with the hustle and bustle of a large school. The ones who want to get on with their work get very frustrated when other children misbehave in class. I thought there had to be a better, more efficient way for children to learn. One of the assignments I did during my teacher training was on new technology in education and how in the future it would enable people to be taught from their home, community centre or anywhere. This planted a seedling in my mind. When the internet started to take off, the idea came to me of launching an online school."

Paul thoroughly researched the concept and found that while there were online schools in America (which tended to be run by churches and religious groups), nobody at the time was offering this type of education in the UK. His next step was to find the software that would make it possible to teach over the internet to children in their own homes. After looking at several products on the market, Paul developed a unique virtual teaching platform using customised web and video conferencing software provided by Voxwire, an American reseller. From day one, the system would prove to be both user-friendly and reliable.

Designing the classroom of the future

The virtual classroom Paul created is built around an interactive whiteboard, which works in the same way as a whiteboard in an actual classroom. "As the teacher writes during a lesson, it appears on my screen," explains a pupil in Year 9. Through their headsets, every child can hear what the teacher says and ask or answer questions. Teachers and pupils can also communicate by typing text messages, which everyone in the class can see. In addition, there is a separate messaging facility so that teacher and pupil can text each other privately. All that is needed to access this way of teaching and learning is a PC or laptop and an internet connection. During lessons, teachers and pupils cannot see each other - webcams are not used, as it has been found children become distracted from their work if they can see (and be seen by) their classmates. (InterHigh, though, plans to use webcasts for science lessons so pupils can watch their teacher perform practical experiments.) Rather than put a face to the name of every pupil, teachers put a personality to the name. One of them comments: "Even though you never see your students, you can still get to know them really well."

The catalyst for the launch of the school, by now named InterHigh, was the nationwide roll-out of broadband, though its system worked just as well with dial-up connections. With a limited budget and a dining room table as an 'office', Paul and Jacqui worked hard to raise awareness of InterHigh and the services it offered. In July 2005, InterHigh enrolled its very first pupil, via an enquiry from its new website. More were soon to follow. The school opened its virtual doors at the start of the autumn term in September 2005, welcoming 23 children to a radical new way of learning.

Keeping the focus on learning

Lessons at InterHigh are very similar to those taught at any typical English or Welsh secondary school. In Years 7, 8 and 9, pupils follow Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum and will sit internal exams to assess their progress. Lessons are held every weekday morning during term time, starting at 9.30am and finishing around lunchtime. On most days, pupils will study no more than two subjects. The timetable has been so designed in order to consolidate learning, leaving the afternoons largely free for students to complete their homework, work on projects together or take part in extra-curricular activities. "Our pupils receive the same depth and quality of learning that they would receive anywhere else," says one of InterHigh's longest-serving teachers. "With us, they get 10 hours a week of tuition, compared 30 to 35 hours a week in a conventional school, but we still manage to cover the same amount of ground."

Despite the lack of face-to-face contact, the small class sizes - 18 at the most - and the ability of the teacher to communicate privately with any one child means there is greater scope for offering more personalised learning than is possible in a conventional classroom. "It's almost like having a private one-to-one lesson," according to one Year 9 pupil. A teacher comments: "Lessons are more intensive, more intimate, making the children more focused, too." Outside of lessons, teachers and pupils are in regular contact with each other via email. Pupils also have access to a lesson library, a virtual common room, message boards and their own web pages.

Aged 11 to 16, InterHigh's pupils hail from all kinds of backgrounds. The safe and stress-free learning environment that online schooling provides, coupled with InterHigh's friendly, supportive ethos, has proved particularly beneficial for children who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to settle at mainstream schools. These include school phobics, victims of emotional and physical bullying, and children with Asperger's syndrome and other forms of autism. InterHigh has also experienced steady demand from parents of gifted children and expatriate families living around the world who want their children to receive a British education.

A number of students are sporting prodigies. The flexibility of online learning makes it easy for young tennis players and golfers to fit their studies in and around their training schedules and touring commitments. InterHigh has enrolled aspiring dancers and singers for the same reason. Children participate in lessons while travelling on trains and waiting at airports. In fact, pupils are able to continue with their learning wherever they can connect to the internet. Sick children undergoing medical treatment have been known to log on from their hospital beds.

Socially disadvantaged children and those with challenging behaviours can also benefit from internet-based teaching. In its first year, InterHigh devised a pilot scheme for Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council to teach children who needed to be educated outside of school. The children used computers at community centres to receive their online lessons. The project produced such good results that the local authority has placed pupils with InterHigh every year since; it was also singled out for praise when Blaenau Gwent's education support services were inspected by Estyn, Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, and the Wales Audit Office. A similar project in neighbouring Monmouthshire is proving equally effective in encouraging pupils with very poor school attendance records to re-engage with their education (see Case Study 1).

Battling for recognition

Like all pioneers, InterHigh has faced an uphill battle to gain acceptance from the establishment. While it operates like a school, it is not officially recognised as being one. "We want to be registered as a school and subject to inspection just like any other," says Jacqui. "We would welcome government inspectors to come in and see what we do and how we work. But the authorities have given us all sorts of weak excuses as to why we can't be registered. The latest is that we don't have a proper fire certificate because they can't carry out a safety inspection of the home of every one of our pupils, which is clearly ridiculous. We may not have won that particular battle, at least not yet, but we will continue to call ourselves a school because that is what we are." Meanwhile, the school has been granted 'New Provider' status by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council and is working towards full accreditation.

Paul and Jacqui believe InterHigh has been denied wider recognition because education officials fear any endorsement of online teaching and learning will encourage parents to withdraw their children from school. In the UK, all children aged five to 16 must receive an education - but it is not compulsory for them to attend school. The law applicable to England and Wales (the Education Act 1996) states: "The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable a) to his age ability and aptitude, and b) any special educational needs he may have, either by attendance at a school or otherwise." Thus, mainstream schooling and home-based learning have equal legal status.

In fact, home education has always been legal in the UK. Famous British people who were educated at home include the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, the poet William Blake, the philosopher Bertrand Russell and Her Majesty the Queen. Today, there are no official figures for the number of children being home educated and estimates vary from 50,000 to 150,000. Whatever the precise total, campaigning groups, such as Education Otherwise and the Home Education Advisory Service, claim record numbers of parents are taking their children out of school because of fears over bullying, knife crime and drugs, concerns about the quality of teaching, and objections to government tests and targets. (It is interesting to note that in the United States, one in 20 children is now taught at home, yet in other developed countries, such as Germany, home education remains illegal.)

While InterHigh is a provider of home-based learning, it has never positioned itself as a member of the burgeoning home education community. "We don't see ourselves as home educators," explains Jacqui. "Home education is more about parents teaching their own children. We are a school and we teach our pupils just like a school would - but over the internet. At InterHigh you will find everything you would expect to see in a traditional school - subject lessons, homework, exams and academic prizes, all of which we can provide online." InterHigh accepts, however, that many parents who teach their children at home during their primary years and then enrol them with InterHigh - because they are unable to provide the more structured curriculum required at secondary level - will consider that their children are still being 'home educated'.

Backing the case for online schools

Ever since its launch, InterHigh's new and exciting vision for learning has attracted a lot of media interest. Not all of this coverage has been favourable or accurate, as evidenced by headlines like 'Fears over children learning at home' and 'Virtual school could create troubled adults'. A few journalists have tried to paint a fanciful picture of online schooling as one where teachers and pupils undertake lessons in their pyjamas and slippers. In some articles, policy-makers, teaching unions and academics have spoken out against internet schools, claiming that their pupils will become isolated, miss out on extra-curricular activities and less likely to develop important social skills.

InterHigh and its supporters have always been swift to rebut such criticisms. First, they argue that many children find it easier to learn on their own and at their own pace. Away from the competitive atmosphere and peer pressure associated with traditional schools, such children thrive in the virtual classroom, growing in confidence and self-belief and attaining high academic standards. What's more, just as the internet has changed the way children learn, so it has changed the way they communicate with each other. The development of InterHigh has coincided with the rise of Facebook, MySpace and other social networking websites. Far from being isolated, its pupils chat to their friends and make new ones in the same way as the rest of their generation - texting, blogging, emailing, tweeting and instant messaging. InterHigh's teachers have observed that children who have never met each other, and probably never will for reasons of geography, can often forge close friendships over the internet. "I've got more friends now than I ever did when I was at normal school," reveals a pupil in Year 11.

InterHigh also points out that its pupils enjoy a rich and varied extra-curricular programme that includes an annual school play where the rehearsals and performance take place over the internet. Other online activities include end-of-term parties, dance lessons, guest speakers and career forums. While it cannot offer sport and outdoor activities, InterHigh encourages parents to give their children plenty to do away from the computer as part of a healthy, active lifestyle. One of the highlights of the school's calendar is the annual InterHigh Weekend, when children and their parents get together for two days of fun and games at a residential college in Wales.

As for the issue of socialisation, the father of one InterHigh pupil comments: "It's considered the right thing to put as many as a thousand children together in the same place but I think the social benefits are wildly overstated. I think school is a very unnatural environment for children because for the rest of their lives they will be mixing with people of different ages, not just their peers." The mother of two boys being schooled by InterHigh says: "I think children who go to school are the ones who are socially disadvantaged. They just mix with people their own age and are scared of children bigger than them and look down on those younger than them. My children are very sociable and can talk and interact with adults and children of all ages."

Improving exam results

In a survey undertaken two years after InterHigh was founded, parents of pupils were asked what they thought their children had gained from learning with the school. The three most popular answers were "a happier, more positive education", "the opportunity to learn in a flexible environment" and "an improved quality of education". Word of mouth and recommendations, as much as advertising and online marketing, have seen InterHigh increase the number of children on its roll every year since it opened. By 2009, the school had more than 200 pupils spread across its five years groups, with roughly an equal number of boys and girls, and 13 virtual classrooms. Most of the children live in the UK; the remainder live abroad in numerous different countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, the Philippines ,China and the Middle East

In Years 10 and 11, pupils study for International GCSEs (IGCSEs), which are equivalent to GCSEs but differ in that they are 100% exam based (that is, no assessed coursework is involved). IGCSEs are offered in the following subjects: English language, English literature, Mathematics, Double Award Science, History, Geography, French and Spanish. Edexcel, the UK's largest awarding body, have centres around the UK where InterHigh's students can sit exams. Students who live overseas can sit exams at British Council offices or other establishments.

In the three years InterHigh pupils have sat IGCSEs to date, the proportion gaining A* to C grades in five subjects (including mathematics and English) has risen steadily, from 53% to 58% to 63%. InterHigh believes this compares favourably with the national average of 65.3% (for GCSEs) when you take in account the education histories of many of its pupils, some of whom have never had any kind of schooling before. And unlike many schools, InterHigh will put forward any pupil for exams, not just the best students. IGCSEs are also being offered by an increasing number of schools in the independent sector because they consider them to be more rigorous than GCSEs, and starting from September all state school will be able to offer them if they wish. As greater numbers of pupils join the school in Year 7 and stay on to take their IGCSEs, as opposed to those who enrol with InterHigh half-way through a course before sitting an exam, the school says it is confident its success rate will rise further. After leaving InterHigh, all former students have gone on to take up further education or training.

As it has expanded, InterHigh has recruited highly qualified, experienced teachers who have worked in both the state and private sectors. Like their pupils, they log in from home and can live practically anywhere. Currently, all its staff are based in the UK apart from one who lives in Ireland. Professional teachers are drawn to the online learning sector because it gives them the freedom to teach, away from the pressures of traditional school life. One of InterHigh's staff comments: "I feel I am actually teaching my subject as opposed to constantly managing disciplinary problems within the classroom." A colleague adds: "I find it more rewarding to teach online." The school currently has more than 20 members of staff, including 10 subject teachers and two designated pastoral care officers. All are CRB checked.

There are many advantages to being an internet school. During the severe winter weather which gripped the whole of the UK in January 2010, InterHigh was one of the few schools in the country that could always stay open, no matter how deep the snow. And with no premises to maintain or the other overheads (apart from teachers' salaries) associated with conventional schools, InterHigh is able to deliver education of high quality at reasonable cost. Fees for the current academic year are £2,220, which works out at £185 per month. This compares to an average day fee of £10,713 per year charged by private schools in the UK. As a registered non-profit making company, all the money InterHigh makes is ploughed back into the school.

The high level of reinvestment has spawned a continuous stream of new initiatives. In what it hopes to be the first of many international partnerships, InterHigh has joined forces with a British school on the Costa del Sol in Spain to offer students the benefits of online learning within a traditional school setting (see Case Study 2). In response to demand from parents who want their children to stay with the school after taking their IGCSEs, InterHigh is launching a sixth from in September 2010. InterHigh Advanced, as its new A-level department will be called, will be open to adult learners and college students as well as pupils, in fact, anyone wishing to study for AS or A-levels. Lessons will be held in the evenings and initially courses will be available in 10 subjects including English literature, mathematics, sociology and business studies.

InterHigh enters a new era

After years of steady growth, Paul and Jacqui felt they had reached a "crossroads" in early 2010. They wanted to build on their success but decided to limit pupil numbers to 300, believing significant further expansion would have a detrimental effect on the quality of personalised education it could offer each child. Instead, they took the decision to grow laterally by launching three new business divisions, the aim of which are to form joint ventures with local authorities and individual schools in the public sector, independent schools and tuition businesses.

Under this new policy, local authorities would be able to use InterHigh's unique online teaching platform under licence to develop a supplementary or 'top-up/catch-up' education service to cater for children in need of additional support. Schools in both the public and private sectors could use the platform to provide additional teaching and give virtual lessons to pupils unable to attend classes, helping children to continue with their studies beyond the school gates. Tutors, keen to access more pupils and so extend their teaching and earning capacity, will be able to use the platform to give virtual classes to pupils regardless of their location, providing tuition in much the same way they have always done from their home or office.

Looking back on the achievements of InterHigh, Paul is convinced that online teaching and learning is only just beginning to fulfil its potential. "In the early days, people would say we weren't a proper school, that we didn't have proper teachers and all kinds of things," he says. "We don't get those criticisms any more because we have worked very hard over the years to dispel the myths surrounding online teaching and learning. A traditional schooling cannot meet the individual needs of every child and we have shown there is a clear need for this alternative form of education. We have proven that it's possible to provide a complete education over the internet. In the future, it will be considered as nothing unusual to have your child educated this way."

What the pupils say

All names of children have been anonymised.

Boy, 14, Year 9 (Tigers)

I don't miss anything about a traditional school because there's not really much to miss. The schools round my area are not really that nice. A lot of bullying goes on and it's just not a nice environment for someone who wants to study.

When I joined InterHigh, it felt strange that you couldn't see the teacher or any other classmates but it was also really exciting. I find it quite normal now. It's just like using instant messaging to keep in touch with your friends but you're learning at the same time.

The teachers use simple language but if someone doesn't understand something, they will be happy to explain it to them. We don't laugh at anyone or take the mickey out of someone for not knowing something. Everyone is kind to each other and it's quite easy to make friends.

Boy, 16, Year 11 (Cheetahs)

I've been with InterHigh since I was 11. I didn't like comprehensive school and going there made me unwell. There is lots of fighting and hassle in school. I was thrilled with the idea of being schooled at home and it's turned out to be really good fun.

The lessons are very interesting and you get to ask as many questions as you like because the classes are so small. You don't feel intimidated by the teachers or your classmates and everyone is really nice.

After my IGCSEs I am staying on to do AS-levels and then will hopefully go to university. I have loved learning with InterHigh and I am grateful for the opportunity. I would definitely let my children be schooled this way.

Girl, 14, Year 10 (Panthers)

In mainstream school all I did was rush from one lesson to another. By the time I had settled into a lesson we really only did about half an hour's work but had masses of homework to make up for what we didn't do in class.

I prefer InterHigh. My old school mates are so jealous that I am schooled this way. My best mate and I used to be at the same level in learning but now I am miles ahead of her, and I think that's because how I learn is so relaxed.

It's fun, it's easier to learn and I am able to do it in my own time. The teachers are lovely and kind, and don't shout at you or embarrass you. Nobody is looking at me so if I mess up I don't feel stupid in front of people. I am much happier learning at home.

Girl, 13, Year 9 (Pumas)

I prefer to have lessons over the internet at home because you have no distractions. It's easier to study because I can concentrate more. It's almost like having a private one-to-one lesson. The teachers are really nice, too.

As the teacher writes during a lesson, it appears on my screen. It is exactly the same as a teacher using a blackboard in a normal classroom. I reply to the teacher either by typing or speaking through my headset.

I think InterHigh is cool and I am very happy there. I told my best friend about InterHigh and how good it was and she has recently joined. She was nervous before she started but really liked it from day one.

Girl, 15, Year 11 (Bobcats)

On your first day at a normal school, they are staring at you as you come in and you get the vibe that they don't like you. At InterHigh, I didn't get any of those vibes and I felt everyone welcomed me with open arms.

I prefer learning with InterHigh because there are no bullies. I have no fear - I don't have to hide in the library any more. It's easy to make friends. In fact, I've got more friends now than I ever did when I was at normal school.

It's not easy for me to study as I am not very disciplined but I like the structure and routine of the online lessons. They are more interesting and we can learn at our own pace. I am a lot happier at InterHigh.

Boy, 12, Year 8 (Jaguars)

I live in a village in Spain and I joined InterHigh when I was 11. I went to a Spanish school before, where I got bullied, then an English school, which was better but I felt overwhelmed. I don't like large groups of children.

At InterHigh the lessons are interesting and there are no distractions slowing you down. I can get more done. I like not being able to see anyone as it's easier to concentrate. If you are good at working alone, you will love InterHigh. If I ever have a problem about homework or something, the teachers always get back to me very quickly.

It is incredible that people from all over the world can come in and make contact. My dad has just a got a job in Dubai, so we might all be moving out there. I know that wherever I am, I can get an education.

What the parents say

All names of parents and children have been anonymised.

Mother, Mid Glamorgan

My two children, a boy (16) and a girl (14), went to comprehensive school before I took them out and enrolled them with InterHigh.

My son never liked school even though he was always very popular and had lots of friends. When he went to the comprehensive, he just found it all too much and was fainting. One morning I was driving him to school when he had a fit in the car and I decided enough was enough. We drove away and never went back.

My daughter is a completely different child, very confident and outgoing, but she suffered in a different way. Even though she went to the same comprehensive as all her friends, moving up from the comfort zone of her primary school was a huge culture shock for her. All the rules and regulations left her terrified of doing anything wrong.

I don't know if InterHigh would work for every child but it certainly works for my children. They love the school and are doing very well. You can see that they are happy. My son is taking eight GCSEs and he will stay on at InterHigh to do his A-levels. My daughter has gone from being two years behind her age group to being in advance of where she needs to be at this stage in her education.

One of the advantages for me as a parent is that you know where your kids are and what they are doing. I've listened in to lots of the classes and I think they're really interesting. I can speak to the teachers any time I want and I feel they will go over and above to help me and my children.

Mother, Kent

My daughter (15), who has special educational needs, was physically bullied at secondary school. Each week she would go in for the first couple of days but by the Wednesday she would start to have panic attacks. When it got to the point where she couldn't cope any more, I started doing some research to see if I could take her out of school and that's when I heard about InterHigh.

She's made so much progress since she joined. She is happy and secure, feels more confident about herself and her self-esteem has risen. There's always help and support available, which she really likes. She's come on so well she now mentors some of the new children and she's won a place at college to study equine care. Looking back, I think InterHigh saved her life.

Mother, Hertfordshire

My daughter (13) wasn't happy at secondary school. She was suffering from anxiety and the teachers weren't being terribly supportive. I don't think home schooling would have been an option without InterHigh.

She enjoys learning with InterHigh. Her efforts are being recognised more, which is helping to build her confidence. She is beginning to learn to believe in herself.

I was initially concerned that she might miss out the social side of things, but she now goes to drama classes and does other activities which she wasn't able to cope with when she was at her old school because she was too tired. I believe I have made the right decision in enrolling her with InterHigh at this stage in her schooling.

Father, Somerset

We lived in Spain for three years but came back because we thought the level of education wasn't helping either of our children. Among other concerns, there was a fair amount of bullying and when my son (11) went to primary school over here, he was promptly bullied again. He gets on famously with adults but finds it difficult to make friends with children of his own age.

We thought he would be better off being educated at home and hired a private tutor. When we decided he wasn't going to secondary school either, we joined an internet forum and asked if anybody knew of online schools. InterHigh was one of the suggestions. We opted for InterHigh out of all the schools we looked at because it had a sense of community and seemed least like a business.

It's been a good move for him. He likes learning online, he does his homework on the day he gets it, and his reports are good. InterHigh provide a wide range of subjects and I like the fact that the homework is well marked. I have no complaints at all and Josh will stay with InterHigh as long as he is happy, which is all that matters.

Father, Spain

We've lived in Spain for five years and our two children, son(15) and daughter (14), went to primary school in the village, which they loved. But when they went to secondary school here, neither could really get to grips with it. We looked at private schools but didn't think even the expensive ones were any good. Then we found out about InterHigh and decided to give their system a try.

Since they joined, they have been far happier. They have made a lot of progress because the lessons are more concentrated and there are no distractions. They are getting wonderful grades and they really get a buzz when they see them come through on the computer. Both of them will stay with InterHigh to take their GCSEs.

From our point of view as parents, we think the standards of teaching are very good, and we like the idea that our children can simply get up in the morning and get on with their lessons without leaving the house. We would recommend InterHigh to anybody.

Mother, Philippines

We lived in Saudi Arabia for a number of years and my daughter (15) went to a British school there. When we moved back to the Philippines, I wanted her to continue to receive a British-style education. We visited a British school in Manila but we thought it was quite expensive and then somebody recommended InterHigh to me.

We are eight hours ahead of the UK, which means she doesn't start her online classes until 4.30pm, or 5.30pm if it's winter, but she has no problem with that. During the day, I take her to the bookstore, where she can do some reading, or we go to the gym or play tennis.

She is very happy at InterHigh. She likes the teachers and the way they teach. Even though she is not physically in the class, I stress to her that she should still pay the teacher the same respect. She is very focused and is learning a lot more than she did at her old school. I don't have any regrets about sending her to InterHigh.

Mother, Bedfordshire

I've mostly taught my three sons at home but when my eldest (14) reached secondary school age, I felt I wouldn't be able to meet all his learning needs. I did a search on the web, InterHigh popped up, and I enrolled him for a month's trial to see how he got on. He enjoyed it right from the start, so he stayed. His younger brother (12), has since followed him and he enjoys it too.

I think parents should explore other avenues of education if their child cannot settle at school. If children are unhappy, they are not going to learn anything. Both boys are both happy with InterHigh. They do their lessons enthusiastically and they are getting good grades. I have another younger son who can't wait to join InterHigh as well when he's old enough.

What the teachers say

Teacher, Geography

She has been a teacher since 1979 and has worked in both state and private schools as well as further education colleges. She lives in rural Wales and joined InterHigh in 2006.

I teach all age groups up to GCSE level. InterHigh pupils receive the same depth and quality of learning that they would receive anywhere else. With us, they get 10 hours a week of tuition, compared 30 to 35 hours a week in a conventional school, but we still manage to cover the same amount of ground.

This is one of the key advantages of InterHigh: we can achieve much more in an hour than a typical school can. When you're teaching in a classroom, you spend the first 10 minutes of every lesson just sorting things out. Pupil control in most classes could take up 30 maybe even 40 per cent of your time. At InterHigh, we don't waste time. There is less disruption and the learning is very concentrated.

We are able to teach children with a variety of different needs. They may have learning difficulties, behavioural problems or conditions such as autism and Asperger's syndrome.

Some are very bright kids who just couldn't cope with normal school, but they're doing fine with us. Some children I teach are aspiring motorcross champions, chess masters and tennis players. The learning provided by InterHigh fits around their busy training schedules very well.

It would be quite wrong to think that we are not a proper school. We are providing what is needed but in a different way. If the children are learning and happy, what's the problem? In America and Australia, internet-based schooling is very common, while in Canada, more and more colleges are delivering courses by this method. I also think InterHigh is very, very good value compared to the price of private schooling.

Teacher, Science and Numeracy

He lives near Eastbourne in East Sussex and taught in the state sector for seven years before joining InterHigh in 2008.

When I joined, one of the teachers said I would really enjoy working for InterHigh and that's certainly been the case. Compared to a conventional school, the way we teach is more or less the same in terms of lesson plans, setting homework and so forth.

The main difference is that you don't have as nearly as many behavioural issues. The children are less distracted because they are not actually together in the same room. With this kind of teaching, you can actually get on with the job of teaching. The time you have to spend on classroom management is minimal, which is a breath of fresh air from my point of view.

It's also a more relaxing environment for children. They can concentrate on learning without the anxieties many of them had in their previous schooling. I think InterHigh gives them the opportunity to achieve just as well as with a conventional education, if not more so.

I enjoy teaching online, even though I have never met any of my pupils and I don't even know what they look like. It's rewarding when you notice how children who were a bit shy to begin with become more confident. I get emails from parents who say that InterHigh has been a life-saver for their son or daughter.

A conventional education doesn't suit everyone and there is a clear need for internet schools like InterHigh and this type of learning. When I worked as a supply teacher, I was seeing more and more pupils being suspended or even expelled. There has to be an alternative for children who would perhaps miss out on an education altogether.

Teacher, English

She taught in schools in England and Wales before moving back to her native Ireland. She joined InterHigh in 2005.

I had been teaching in the UK for about 15 years before I joined InterHigh and you could say I was disillusioned at the time. I was very unhappy about the levels of discipline in schools and the amount of time teachers spent trying to manage discipline. Since working for InterHigh, however, I have never felt so positive about teaching and I would never go back to teaching in a conventional school.

The key difference between classroom teaching and online teaching is the focus you have. As a teacher, I feel I am actually teaching my subject as opposed to constantly managing disciplinary problems within the classroom. Lessons are more intensive, more intimate, making the children more focused, too. There is also mutual respect between students and teachers.

Initially I was a little concerned about not having face-to-face interaction with students but those fears have been fully allayed. Even though you never see your students, you can still get to know them really well and appreciate their personalities and sense of humour. You develop a kind of sixth sense, which means you soon become aware if there is a change in a child's mood or in the dynamics of the class.

Online learning will help many, many children but it is not the answer for everyone. Online learning is not going to replace conventional schooling but it's very valuable. I have seen the vast majority of the students I have taught over the last five years blossom as young people, but I wonder what would have happened to some of them if they had not had access to this form of education.

Teacher, English

She went to teach in Greece and Italy after leaving university, specialising in EFL and IB tutoring. She moved back to the UK in April 2009 and joined InterHigh a few months later.

If someone had said to me five years ago that I would be teaching online, I would never have believed them. My generation wasn't brought up with computers and so I always assumed I wouldn't be up to it technologically. But the InterHigh system is well set up and well organised. Learning how to use it has been easier and less complicated than I thought it would be.

Now I find it more rewarding to teach online. When I finish a lesson, I often feel I am getting a lot out of the children and that they really enjoyed it. This kind of teaching is also a lot less stressful. I still work as a supply teacher in primary schools and it's sad these days how cheeky and rude children can be even at a young age. To be honest, when I go into some schools it feels like I am there more to provide crowd control than teach.

My daughter was already enrolled with InterHigh when I started working for them. We were living in Italy when she went to junior high school at the age of 10. The school didn't suit her at all. The teaching was boring and formal and everything was learnt by rote. I could see her losing interest in her work and her marks went downhill. Luckily, we came across InterHigh and within a couple of weeks of starting with them, she was a changed child.

She has continued to do well and enjoys learning online. She studies the whole range of subjects and is getting decent marks. I believe a child can achieve as well with InterHigh as with a conventional school. If they are capable of getting straight A's, and they work hard, they are just as likely to succeed.

Case study 1: Online lessons encourage disaffected pupils to finish their schooling

The InterHigh way of learning is enabling pupils of a secondary school in Wales who struggle with formal education to study for their GCSEs without going inside a traditional classroom

King Henry VIII Comprehensive School in Abergavenny, South Wales, has 1,150 pupils, aged 11 to 18. Examination results at all levels are above the national average. Consideration for others, responsibility towards the community and active support of commonly held codes of good behaviour are high priorities within the school.

Staff at the school have been working closely with InterHigh since January 2009 to develop more effective ways of teaching and learning for pupils with very poor attendance records.

"Whatever we did, these children just would not come through the school gate," says Neil Shutt, deputy headteacher. "Some had great difficulty in coping with the large class sizes and routines of a mainstream school. We needed to offer them more individualised learning."

Neil and a colleague went on a fact-finding mission to a neighbouring local authority which employed InterHigh to teach children who had been excluded from school. Representatives from InterHigh were then invited to give a presentation to staff and governors at King Henry VIII.

"We were impressed by the range of the subjects InterHigh offered," adds Neil, "and by the flexibility of their system. If somebody misses a lesson, they can easily pick it up later. We felt there was a nucleus of an idea here for dealing with our more challenging students."

In partnership with Monmouthshire Youth Service, King Henry VIII won funding to run a pilot project at a youth centre adjacent to the school grounds. In an informal (but still supervised) learning environment, five Year 11 pupils studied entry level qualifications in English and science through InterHigh. All passed their exams, some achieving the highest grades, and one pupil's attendance rate went up from 6% to 78%.

In September 2009, a second cohort of five Year 11 pupils began foundation level courses in the core GCSE subjects - English, maths and science - as part of a new learning pathway, known as the Youth Access Initiative, aimed at young people who experience difficulties in school. Their online lessons take up 10 hours a week out of the 22 hours in the timetable.

On Mondays, for example, there is a maths lesson from 9.30am to 10.30am, followed by a break and a second maths lesson from 10.45am to 11.50am. After lunch, there is a science lesson, running from 12.45pm to 1.30pm. When not studying online, the young people are taught key skills, participate in hand-on activities such as cookery, music and gardening, attend college or go out on work experience.

Again, the attendance records of pupils have improved. Furthermore, the school's overall exclusion figures have fallen "considerably" as individuals with the worst disciplinary records, and at risk of being permanently excluded, have modified their behaviour since joining the programme.

The promising results from the pilots have enabled King Henry VIII to secure further funding to extend its partnership with InterHigh. The school says it is keen to explore how it can enhance the learning model by, for instance, using webcams in science lessons so pupils can see a teacher perform experiments. Another potential area of development is reducing the length of lessons to increase the attention levels of pupils with short attention spans.

Meanwhile, other secondary schools in the area have observed the project and are looking to set up similar schemes. Parents have also been supportive, grateful that their children are re-engaging with their education.

Marc Fennessy, of Monmouthshire Youth Service, comments: "I believe that everybody should have a choice of learning options open to them. Our link with InterHigh gives young people who are school phobic or who, for a variety of reasons, can't cope with formal education, the opportunity to achieve their GCSEs just like anybody else. The online learning InterHigh provides has got huge value and I think it's absolutely brilliant that we can offer this as part of our curriculum."

Case study 2: A new way of learning in Spain

Thanks to what InterHigh plans to be the first of many international partnerships, pupils at a school on the Costa del Sol in Spain are starting to reap the benefits of online learning

The International School Estepona, near Marbella, delivers a British education based on the National Curriculum to children aged two to 12. It has expanded rapidly since it opened in 2005 with just three pupils; today, it has more than 100, a third of whom are from British ex-pat families.

The school is run by Howard and Gillian Godbold, who approached InterHigh after a growing number of parents expressed a wish for their children to stay on at the school after Year 6.

"We are a small, friendly school and parents didn't want their children to leave," says Howard. "That's when we started to talk to InterHigh. One of our teacher's children was already enrolled with them and we arranged for the child to come in and show us how the system worked. We were very impressed. The software provided by InterHigh is very good and very reliable."

A series of presentations demonstrating how online learning worked generated so much interest among parents inside and outside the school that Howard and Gillian decided to utilise the InterHigh platform.

In September 2009, the school opened a new purpose-built classroom, investing in the latest digital technology. It can accommodate 20 children, each with their own private booth and high-speed internet connection. Here, six pupils, aged 12 to 15, currently take daily online lessons with InterHigh, under the supervision of a teacher.

Their day starts at 9.30am when they will finish homework and prepare for their lessons, which start at 10.30am and normally finish around 1.15pm. In the afternoons, the pupils participate in a range of conventional lessons and activities, including conversational Spanish, art, cooking and PE.

"The children adapted to the virtual classroom very quickly," adds Howard. "What's more, all their results have got better. Learning this way seems to really make them focus and absorb more. It's practically one-to-one education.

"Parents also benefit because they can log on every night and monitor their children's progress daily, rather than wait for a parents' evening or the end of term. Only a web-based education system can offer this."

An added advantage is that children can continue with their studies during any absences from school, providing they have access to the internet. Pupils will be able to sit their GCSEs and, later, A-levels at nominated examination centres in Spain.

The International School Estepona believes that its partnership with InterHigh means it can offer "the best of both worlds" - an orthodox school where children can build their confidence and social skills by participating in sports and other activities, combined with online learning that enables each child to study academic subjects and become IT literate.

"Online learning is the future," says Howard. "I think it's far better to teach the core academic subjects this way and our results are proving this. You also have to realise that somebody who can't use a computer effectively will be classed as having a learning difficulty in years to come. It is absolutely essential that children develop total IT literacy by using a computer every day to learn."